Matt O'Riley broke the Scottish transfer record when he left Celtic to join Brighton & Hove Albion in a £30 million move this summer. Things have not been easy for the Danish midfielder since then. He would get injured on his debut for the Seagulls. He was back on the pitch this weekend, as he came on as a substitute and scored a late winner against Manchester City.
O'Riley's goal meant that Manchester City have now lost four games on the trot. This is the first time that that has happened under the management of Pep Guardiola and one has to wonder whether that era is starting to near its end. There have been plenty of rumours about the Spaniard leaving in search of a fresh challenge in the near future.
On the other hand, O'Riley's Premier League debut could not have gone any better. Now, hopefully, he will remain injury-free and get a good run in Brighton & Hove Albion's team.
Chris Sutton decided to take a cheeky dig after O'Riley's winner against Manchester City. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the Celtic hero said while speaking on BBC Radio Five Live’s 606:
"Absolutely delighted for Matt O’Riley coming down to the Farmer’s League north of the border and scoring the winner for Brighton."
Celtic hero Chris Sutton takes dig after Matt O'Riley's goal vs Man City
Of course, the Scottish league often does not get the respect that it deserves down south. But year after year, players move north of the border and prove themselves at the highest of levels.
Virgil van Dijk is one of the best players in Liverpool history, Victor Wanyama reached a Champions League final with Tottenham Hotspur, John McGinn is the Aston Villa captain during their most successful period in decades. The examples go on. Hopefully, O'Riley will end up joining that list.
As for Celtic, they are proving themselves at the European level right now. In midweek, they won 3-1 against Bundesliga contenders, RB Leipzig, in comfortable fashion and sit ahead of a lot of high-profile teams in the Champions League table.